Featured in this issue: - University College Dublin

The American Civilizing Process
Professor Stephen Mennell
By drawing comparisons between the USA
and other countries throughout the world, in
his latest book ‘The American Civilizing
Process', Professor Stephen Mennell (UCD
School of Sociology) discusses American
manners and lifestyles, violence in American
society, the impact of markets on American
social character, American global expansion,
the 'curse of the American Dream’ and
increasing inequality, and the religiosity
of American life.
Viewed from Europe, Professor Mennell shows
America as a land of familiar paradoxes. “An
agreeable civility habitually prevails in most
everyday relations among people in America -
yet the US is almost the last bastion among
advanced democratic nations of capital
punishment,” he says.
“In most parts of America, the laws and social
customs strongly restrain people from doing
harm to themselves and others by smoking -
yet the laws and social customs only weakly
restrain people from doing harm to themselves
and others by the use of guns, and the murder
rate is about four times as high per capita as in
Western Europe,” he explains.
In ‘The American Civilizing Process’ Professor
Mennell asks can history and social science help
to explain these seeming paradoxes and to
show how they relate to each other. He also
examines how Americans see themselves, how
they view the rest of the world, and how the
rest of the world sees them - in the light of
America as an ever-expanding global power.
Those concerned about America’s role in the
world today would be well served by reading
this compelling and provocative work, which
uses Norbert Elias’s theory of civilizing
processes to trace how America reached its
present position in the world.
Computational Fluid
Dynamics in Food Processing
Computer Vision Technology
for Food Quality Evaluation
Edited by Professor Da-Wen Sun
Two new books by Professor Da-Wen Sun
(UCD School of Agricultural, Food Science
and Veterinary Medicine) entitled
‘Computational Fluid Dynamics in Food
Processing' and ‘Computer Vision Technology
for Food Quality Evaluation’ have recently
been published by CRC Press / Taylor &
Francis and Academic Press / Elsevier,
respectively. Both computer vision and
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are
novel techniques for the food industry, and
these two new titles are the first in these
rapidly expanding areas.
“These two unique works provide engineers and
technologists working in research, development,
and operations in the food industry with
critical, comprehensive and readily accessible
information on the art and science of the
techniques, and their publication is much
demanded and has met the market needs”, said
Professor Sun, the editor of the books.
CFD is a state-of-the-art simulation tool for
solving fluid flow problems. It allows engineers
to computer-test concepts all the way through
the development of a process or system.
Contributed by 55 international peers with both
academic and professional credentials, and
consisting of 28 chapters, 'Computational Fluid
Dynamics in Food Processing' presents an
overview of this powerful design and analysis
tool and offers an in-depth discussion of recent
advances and applications in the food industry.
Computer vision is a novel technology for
recognising objects and extracting quantitative
information from digital images in order to
provide objective, rapid, non-contact and
non-destructive quality evaluation. Especially in
recent years, significant scientific and
technological advances have been made in
quality inspection, classification and evaluation
of a wide range of food and agricultural
products. ‘Computer Vision Technology for Food
Quality Evaluation’ therefore focuses on these
recent advances.
Professor Sun is an internationally recognized
figure for his leadership in food engineering
research and education. He is among the first to
introduce CFD and computer vision technology
for food applications to UCD and Ireland in
1997, and has made significant leading
contributions in these areas over the years,
which has earned UCD an international
reputation in research in the fields.
Hidden Streams - A New History
of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown
In Hidden Streams, local historian Brian Mac
Aongusa takes the reader on a voyage of
discovery of the past in the area of South
County Dublin that is now known as Dun
Laoghaire-Rathdown.
Following his retirement, Brian undertook a
modular BA degree at UCD, focusing on History
and Historical Geography. His thesis subject
‘Water Courses and Settlements in the Dublin
Half Barony of Rathdown’ excited his interest in
the influence of rivers and streams in the area.
By tracing their significance in the lives of the
first prehistoric visitors and inhabitants, the
early Christians, the Vikings and the Anglo-
Normans, the book throws a new light on many
of the monuments and landscape features that
are still visible today. A study of early maps
from 1685 reveals a fascinating world of waterpowered
industries, side by side with the
15
growth of the first suburbs of Kingstown,
Blackrock, Killiney and Ballybrack, and Dalkey.
In the twentieth century the unrelenting
growth of Dublin’s southern suburbs has
severely impacted on the landscape, causing
many of its small rivers and streams to be
smothered by developments that have driven
them underground, out of sight or even out
of memory.
Remembering
the War Dead
by FergusD’Arcy
From the 1920s the Office of Public Works
has been responsible for the graves of those
who died in the two World Wars and are
buried and commemorated in the Republic of
Ireland. There are at least 3,100 such war
graves in the Republic of Ireland and some
2,600 in Northern Ireland.
The history of the 3,000 plus war dead buried in
the Republic of Ireland, how they came to be
there, and how the Irish Government came to
be responsible for the graves is outlined in a
new book, Remembering the War Dead, by
Fergus D’Arcy, former Dean of Arts at University
College Dublin, published by the Office of
Public Works.
“Many people are familiar with the OPW as the
manager of the State’s property portfolio, its
wide range of construction and engineering
projects, and its management of the State’s
heritage, along with the myriad of other
functions that affect many aspects of the lives
of the citizens and people of this country,” said
Noel Ahern TD, Minister of State at the
Department of Finance, with special
responsibility for the Office of Public Works,
who officially launched the book.
“However, there are some functions that are
little known to the general public and one of
these is the Office’s responsibilities in the
maintenance of the ‘Commonwealth War Grave
sites' of those who died as a result of the two
great wars of the last century,” he explained.
“This book is unique in that it reflects the
international nature of these graves that mark
the resting places of people from over twenty
different nations. The majority of these are Irish
and Britons but it is important to also
remember the other Europeans, North
Americans, Australians, New Zealanders and
Asians whose war graves also lie here,”
continued the Minister.
Professor Fergus D’Arcy has lectured in modern
history since 1970 and has published in the
area of British and Irish political and social
studies. His research interests lie in the areas
of social history and popular culture.